Specimen bags are useful in various clinical settings, such as clinical laboratories, pathology labs, and doctors' offices, for secondary containment and transport of biohazard material, such as blood, urine, or tissue that is first disposed in a primary container, such as a tube or vial. The specimen bag is to lock and seal the specimen in the bag to prevent tampering or spilling until the specimen is to be removed from the bag.
Due to the hazardous nature of such specimens, various international institutions, such as the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), have created basic standards for the specimen bags. For example, certain standards require the specimen bag to include imperforated walls that are at least three mils (three thousandths of an inch) thick, leak proof seals and closures, and the ability to handle an internal air pressure of ninety-five kilopascals.
Specimen bags are typically opened by technicians in high volume facilities that analyze the contents. Technicians are typically required to wear protective gloves when opening the specimen bags, which compromises manual dexterity. Thus, it is difficult and time consuming for the technician to open the specimen bag and the method of opening the bag can easily result in loss of the specimen as the bag may tear open suddenly or in an uncontrolled manner.
To facilitate rapid removal of a specimen from a specimen bag, several approaches have been developed. Because perforating the bag walls is not permissible, the simplest approach involves cutting an opening in the bag using a tool such as a utility blade, scissors or a specially designed bag cutter. The approach leaves the technician vulnerable, however, in view of the inherent danger associated with handling a sharp implement, particularly while handling biohazardous materials.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for a sealable specimen bag with an improved opening feature that can be easily and quickly operated particularly under conditions that limit the dexterity of the user.